Johnny Depp has seemingly made a public dig at estranged wife Amber Heard after altering a tattoo on his hand that was dedicated to her.

Johnny Depp has altered a tattoo on his hand that was dedicated to his estranged wife Amber Heard.

The Pirates of the Caribbean star inked the knuckles of his right hand with the word SLIM, which was his nickname for Amber, after the pair married last year (15). He also has another tattoo, a full length-portrait of the Texas-born actress, on his arm.

Now, photos have been released that reveal Johnny has changed the letters of his knuckle tattoo to spell the word SCUM. According to TMZ.com, the alteration has happened over the course of the past week.

It could be a hint to the actor's feelings toward his spouse, who accused him of domestic abuse and obtained a restraining order against him after she filed for divorce in May (16).

Johnny was spotted with the tattoo alteration while on a flying visit to Los Angeles on Wednesday (29Jun16), as he gathered family and friends to pay tribute to his late mother Betty Sue, who died days before Amber filed for divorce.

This isn't the first time Johnny has had to change a tattoo following a break-up. He famously was inked with "Winona Forever" during his relationship in the 1990s with Winona Ryder, but was forced to change it to "Wino Forever" after they broke up.

Winona, who dated Johnny for four years after they met at a film premiere in 1989, came out in defence of her former fiance earlier this week (beg27Jun16), and revealed she was baffled by Amber's allegations against the star.

"I can only speak from my own experience, which was wildly different than what is being said," she told Time magazine. "He was never, never that way towards me. Never abusive at all towards me. I only know him as a really good, loving, caring guy who is very, very protective of the people that he loves."

The actor was on a European tour with his band The Hollywood Vampires when the divorce drama began, and later retreated to his private island in the Bahamas. The band, also featuring Alice Cooper and Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, played the first of their U.S. tour dates in Pennsylvania on Friday (01Jul16), and will continue their tour until the end of the month (Jul16).

Meanwhile, Johnny will face off with his wife for the first time since they split in a Los Angeles courtroom in mid-August (16), when her request for a permanent restraining order against Johnny will be discussed.

The pair was scheduled to face off in court last month (17Jun16) but the hearing was postponed amid reports the former couple was attempting to reach a private settlement.

The actress has accused the father-of-two of abuse throughout their relationship and showed up at court last month (Jun16) with a bruised face, accusing Johnny of throwing an iPhone at her. In response to Amber's abuse allegations, Johnny's lawyers have claimed the actress is "attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse".